Deck 3: Federalism

Question 1

Which of the following systems of government allows the central government to make laws that are directly applicable to member states, and those states can choose not to support the laws?

A) Unitary
B) Federal
C) Authoritarian
D) Totalitarian
E) Confederal

Answer 1

E

Question 2

Which of the following types of system consists of a league of independent states, each having essentially sovereign powers, and a central government with limited powers?

A) Unitary
B) Confederal
C) Federal
D) Authoritarian
E) Bicameral

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which of the following systems of government usually has a written constitution and divided authority between the central government and states?

A) Monarchy
B) Unitary system
C) Confederal system
D) Federalism
E) Oligarchy

Answer 3

D

Question 4

In a federal political system, how is authority distributed?

A) It is always vested in a bicameral legislature.
B) It is divided between the central government and regional or subdivisional governments.
C) It is bestowed upon the central government, with no power being granted to the regional governments.
D) It is concentrated in a unicameral legislature within a strong central government.
E) It is exercised by the national government only insofar as these powers are granted by the states.

Question 5

The necessary and proper clause of Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution is also known as which one of the following?

A) The supremacy clause
B) The confederal system
C) The commerce clause
D) The unitary system
E) The elastic clause

Question 6

The advantages of a federal system of government include which of the following?

A) All Americans gain the benefit of uniform social services policies in every state.
B) The federal government becomes the focal point of political dissatisfaction for most citizens.
C) It is more practical to locate most power in one place.
D) State governments are frequently testing grounds for new governmental initiatives.
E) Smaller political units, such as states and cities, are less likely to be dominated by a single political group.

Question 7

What is the constitutional provision that allows federal laws to take precedent over state laws?

A) Commerce clause
B) Supremacy clause
C) Concurrent powers
D) Reserve powers
E) Elastic clause

Question 8

In a unitary system of government, the ultimate government authority is located on which of the following levels?

A) The state or provincial level
B) The local or municipal level
C) The regional level
D) The national or central level
E) The state or provincial level and the local or municipal level

Question 9

In a federal system, which of the following powers are held jointly by the national and state governments?

A) Cooperative powers
B) Statutory powers
C) Reserved powers
D) Concurrent powers
E) Inherent powers

Question 10

During the time of the Constitutional Convention, why was federalism an appealing compromise?

A) It prevented cities and states from being dominated by a single group or faction.
B) It maintained state traditions while creating a strong national government to handle common problems.
C) It allowed politicians to avoid issues of slavery and women's suffrage.
D) It permitted states to nullify actions of the national government.
E) It made the national government the focal point of dissatisfaction.

Question 11

Which of the following statements regarding the Gibbons v. Ogden case is true?

A) The national government lost the power to regulate intrastate commerce.
B) State governments won the right to control navigation in interstate waters.
C) The power to regulate interstate commerce was determined to be an exclusive national power of the federal government.
D) The ruling provided the national government with decreasing power over economic affairs throughout the land.
E) The Supreme Court found that commerce was defined as the exchange of goods and not navigation or transport of people.

Question 12

What is the system of government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between the national and state governments?

A) Socialism
B) Nationalism
C) States' rights
D) Federalism
E) Confederal system

Question 13

The Constitution did not give Congress the authority to establish the Internal Revenue Service. Congress did so, however, to implement its power to "lay and collect taxes." This an example of which of the following types of power?

A) Implied
B) Delegated
C) Reserved
D) Expressed
E) Inherent

Question 14

In a confederal system of government, the central government has which of the following?

A) Almost all the power
B) Equal power with the states/provinces
C) Supreme power over the states/provinces
D) Almost no real power except during times of war
E) Almost no real power

Question 15

Which of the following entities settles conflicts related to power sharing between the states and the national government?

A) The president
B) Committee of state governors
C) A congressional conference committee
D) The Supreme Court
E) The Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives

Question 16

What is the basic premise of federalism?

A) Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses.
B) Two or more governments share power and authority over the same land and people.
C) Supreme political authority remains with the states.
D) The national government has ultimate sovereignty over a country's land and people.
E) State and local governments may not exercise powers of their own that are independent of the national government.

Question 17

Which of the following prevents states from using their powers to thwart national policy?

A) The supremacy clause
B) The necessary and proper clause
C) The general welfare clause
D) The federalist clause
E) The expressed powers clause

Question 18

What clause in the Constitution grants Congress the power to do whatever is necessary to execute its enumerated or expressed powers?

A) The elastic or necessary and proper clause
B) The supremacy clause
C) The concurrent clause
D) The reserved powers clause
E) The due process clause

Question 19

As it relates to the states, what does the full faith and credit clause mean?

A) It prosecutes individuals who have broken other states' laws.
B) It returns persons fleeing justice back to their home state.
C) It honors the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of other states.
D) It extends to citizens of other states the privileges and immunities of its own citizens.
E) It prosecutes individuals who have broken other states' laws and honor the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of other states.

Question 20

Which of the following best describes police power?

A) It is the authority to tax citizens.
B) It is reserved for the federal government to fight terrorism.
C) It is the states' rights to make laws that are prohibited by the U.S. Constitution in order to regulate commerce within their borders.
D) It is the power of local police to stop drivers suspected of being illegal immigrants.
E) It is the authority to legislate for the protection of the health, welfare, safety, and morals of the people that is delegated to the states.

Question 21

Which of the following is the power to coin money, create naturalization laws, admit new states, and declare war?

A) Implied
B) Inferred
C) Inherent
D) Reserved
E) Enumerated

Question 22

Which of the following chief justices worked to increase the power of the national government and to reduce the power of the states in the early part of the nineteenth century?

A) Warren Burger
B) John Marshall
C) William Rehnquist
D) Roger Taney
E) Earl Warren

Question 23

Which of the following statements about most concurrent powers is true?

A) They were heavily debated by the southern states.
B) They prevent Congress from regulating business within specific states.
C) They have been held to be unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
D) They encourage state governments to reach beyond their borders.
E) They are not specifically stated in the Constitution, but are only implied.

Question 24

What does the doctrine of dual federalism maintain?

A) The Supreme Court should resolve conflicts between the authority of the national government and the states.
B) The national government and the states have authority over defined and mutually exclusive policy areas.
C) The national government and the states should share authority equally in all policy areas.
D) The national government should initiate policies and then turn them over to the states for administration.
E) Any law passed by the national government is the supreme law of the land.

Question 25

Which of the following does the final provision in Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution, sometimes known as the elastic clause, state?

A) The inherent powers of Congress
B) Five ways that enumerated powers can be carried out
C) That Congress can make laws that are necessary and proper to carry out its enumerated powers
D) That Congress can declare war in situations that can be characterized as demanding flexibility
E) A flexible procedure for immediate removal of the president from office

Question 26

Which of the following gives Congress the power to regulate trade among the states?

A) The Bill of Rights
B) The commerce clause
C) The McCulloch v. Maryland decision
D) The necessary and proper clause
E) The Supreme Court

Question 27

The commerce clause is the basis for which of the following?

A) The states' increasing economic powers
B) The decline of international trade
C) The expansion of federal power, especially in the 20th century
D) The expansion of voting rights
E) The decline of federal power, especially in the 20th century

Question 28

What was the central question in the McCulloch v. Maryland case?

A) Whether or not the executive branch had the power to institute a peacetime draft
B) Whether or not Congress had the power to establish a national bank
C) Whether or not Congress had the power to regulate commerce along major waterways
D) Whether or not the Supreme Court had the power to investigate the executive branch
E) Whether or not it should remove one of its own members from the Court

Question 29

What is the doctrine of dual federalism?

A) The function of government is determined by the people.
B) The federal government has more functions than the state governments.
C) The state governments have more functions than the federal government.
D) The state and federal governments have identical functions.
E) The state and federal governments have separate functions.

Question 30

Which of the following issues did the famous case McCulloch v. Maryland deal with?

A) The supremacy clause
B) Legalizing slavery
C) The commerce clause
D) Police power
E) Abolishing slavery

Question 31

Which of the following is an example of a concurrent power?

A) The power to tax
B) The power to declare war
C) The power to regulate interstate commerce
D) The power to negotiate treaties
E) The power to print money

Question 32

If states lacked the power to tax, then how would state governments get their funding?

A) They would need to enter into treaties with foreign countries to obtain funding.
B) They would be in violation of the Constitution's provisions regarding interstate commerce.
C) They would depend on the federal government to be able to function.
D) They would pass the burden of funding their budgets to local governments.
E) They would depend upon private donations from individuals and corporations.

Question 33

What does it mean when a state government passes a law that forbids texting while operating a vehicle?

A) It is employing concurrent powers according to the Tenth Amendment.
B) It is delegating enumerated powers to the national government.
C) It is implementing inherent powers.
D) It is exercising police powers.
E) It is reserved for Congress to decide.

Question 34

According to Article IV of the Constitution, which of the following best describes the full faith and credit clause?

A) Laws enacted by Congress
B) Treaties negotiated by the president of the United States
C) Civil acts and judicial decisions of other states
D) The decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court
E) Declarations of the UN Security Council

Question 35

When examining the Constitution, why are reserved powers not clearly defined?

A) The states had all the power when the Constitution was written because of the Articles of Confederation.
B) The national government was developing a detailed list but preferred to first establish a basic foundation.
C) The majority of power was to be retained by the people with individual rights taking priority over those of the state governments.
D) The issue of slavery prevented a list of specific powers from being drafted by the founders.
E) The founders intended the Supreme Court to evaluate the needs of the states on an ongoing basis.

Question 36

Which of the following did the early Supreme Court generally do under Chief Justice John Marshall?

A) It preserved states' rights.
B) It lessened trade powers between the states.
C) It issued conflicting decisions about the balance between national and state power.
D) It remained silent about federalism issues.
E) It increased national power.

Question 37

Why did the Founding Fathers incorporate the principle of privileges and immunities into the Constitution?

A) To guarantee that the national government provide equivalent shares of grant money to states
B) To ensure that state governments would not discriminate against another state's citizens
C) To safeguard that a person charged with a crime in another state be returned to that state for trial or imprisonment
D) To ensure that the public acts, records, and civil proceedings of each state are legal and binding in all states
E) To guarantee that public officials would receive equal treatment under the law

Question 38

What preemptive power is rooted in the Constitution that allows Congress to impose national priorities on states through national legislation?

A) The necessary and proper clause
B) The elastic clause
C) The full faith and credit clause
D) The supremacy clause
E) The establishment clause

Question 39

Which of the following classes of powers are not given to the federal government by the Constitution, nor reserved to the states?

A) Concurrent powers
B) Reserved powers
C) Implied powers
D) Enumerated powers
E) Inherent powers

Question 40

When Congress passed a tariff in 1828, why did South Carolina try to nullify it?

A) To assert the power of the state governments over the national government
B) To indicate that a state should have the ultimate authority over its citizens
C) To protect slavery
D) To increase the price of exported and imported goods
E) To assert the power of the state governments over the national government and to indicate that a state should have the ultimate authority over its citizens

Question 41

Which of the following metaphors best describes dual federalism?

A) Sponge cake
B) Layer cake
C) Fruit cake
D) Marble cake
E) Pineapple upside down cake

Question 42

Which of the following political ideologies favors the national government over the state governments?

A) Liberals
B) Conservatives
C) Socialists
D) Federalists
E) Traditionalists

Question 43

Which of the following is a requirement in federal legislation that forces state and local governments to comply with certain rules?

A) A waiver
B) An earmark
C) A federal mandate
D) A national agenda
E) A leverage package

Question 44

In your opinion, what is the most significant disadvantage of federalism? Has this disadvantage become more important in modern times? Why or why not?

Question 45

When state governments and the national government are seen as separate entities, how is dual federalism best characterized?

A) As a layer cake
B) As a marble cake
C) As a devil's food cake
D) As a cupcake
E) As an angel food cake

Question 46

Which of the following terms describes how state governments and the national government work together to solve the nation's problems?

A) Collaborative
B) Cooperative
C) Distinctive
D) Dual
E) Categorical

Question 47

What are federal mandates?

A) They are rules for operation in the Supreme Court.
B) They are requirements attached to state laws to dispense state grants.
C) They are requirements in federal legislation that force states to comply with federal rules.
D) They are accompanied by federal funding to cover costs of the mandate.
E) They are unconstitutional acts by the states.

Question 48

Which of the following has national authority traditionally been preferred by?

A) Liberals
B) Conservatives
C) Libertarians
D) Those who are culturally conservative but economically liberal
E) The southern states

Question 49

Lay out the basic arguments for and against a federal system of government and take a stance on this disagreement.

Question 50

Which of the following is known as the transfer of government power from the national government to state governments?

A) Cooperative federalism
B) Revolution
C) Regression
D) Devolution
E) Dual federalism

Question 51

Which of the following metaphors best describes cooperative federalism?

A) Layer cake
B) Sponge cake
C) Fruit cake
D) Marble cake
E) Bundt cake

Question 52

What is the purpose of block grants or federal aid given to state or local governments?

A) It is to be divided into discrete "blocks" of grants, each limited to $100 million.
B) It is to be spent on a specific policy area decided on by the federal, state, and local governments.
C) It is to be spent in the way the state or local government decides to spend it.
D) It is to be tied to federal mandates that state or local governments must then implement or they will be taxed on the money.
E) It is to be contingent on state/local endorsement of so-called "social" federal legislation.

Question 53

After the Civil War, which of the following did the Supreme Court do?

A) Limit the police power to the national government
B) Declare a ban on child labor as unconstitutional
C) Allow Congress great latitude in regulating commerce
D) Support a strong central government and reduced state power
E) Tend to oppose dual federalism and support single federalism

Question 54

A government program that is funded by the national government but run and managed by state governments is emblematic of which of the following?

A) Dual federalism
B) Cooperative federalism
C) Enumerated powers
D) Reserved powers
E) The supremacy clause

Question 55

Compare the features of federalism with one other form of government (unitary or confederal) and craft an argument in which you demonstrate why one of these styles of government is superior.

Question 56

Which of the following did President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal include?

A) A laissez-faire plan to address unemployment and poverty issues
B) Large-scale emergency antipoverty programs
C) A hands-off approach to regulating labor relations
D) Open competition among businesses to improve the economy
E) Policies that strictly followed the interpretation of commerce in the Constitution

Question 57

Which of the following political ideologies has traditionally favored state governments over the federal government?

A) Liberals
B) Conservatives
C) Socialists
D) Federalists
E) Traditionalists

Question 58

In the Dred Scott case, what did the Supreme Court decide that Congress had no power to do?

A) Prohibit slavery
B) Create a national bank
C) Control the sale of guns
D) Regulate navigable waterways
E) Issue grants-in-aid

Question 59

Compare a federal system of government with the unitary and confederal systems by explaining advantages and disadvantages of each. Provide examples to illustrate your arguments.

Question 60

Which of the following are given to state or local governments for specific programs or projects?

A) Block grants
B) Categorical grants
C) Mandates
D) Expressed powers
E) Inherent powers

Question 61

In light of recent Supreme Court decisions on issues as diverse as voting rights, same-sex marriage, immigration, and health care, craft an argument in which you discuss whether power is shifting toward or away from the states and assess this move as good or bad for politics.

Question 62

Compare the relationship of the federal and state governments during the era of dual federalism with the cooperative federalism that emerged during the 1930s. Provide examples to illustrate your answer.

Question 63

What advantages does the federal system of government have over unitary and confederal systems of government? What are the disadvantages?

Question 64

Compare and contrast dual federalism and cooperative federalism.

Question 65

Explain the concept of dual federalism and its essential premises.

Question 66

Give examples of powers reserved for state governments and provide the constitutional source of that power.

Question 67

Identify the key elements of cooperative federalism. Explain how it could be used to solve a problem facing society today.

Question 68

Explain the concept of concurrent powers and provide examples.

Question 69

Since the mid-1990s the Supreme Court has given more weight to states' rights. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this trend.

Question 70

Discuss the concept of New Federalism. Explain how it is a challenge to federalism and provide an example.

Question 71

Discuss how modern immigration policy is a challenge to federalism.

Question 72

Explain how the Supreme Court's decisions in the 1990s and the first decade of the twenty-first century represented a departure from its traditional approach to resolving issues of state power.

Question 73

Decisions of the Supreme Court have had a major impact on the relationship between state governments and the national government. Discuss the constitutional effects of McCulloch v. Maryland and Gibbons v. Ogden.

Question 74

Discuss two of the powers specifically granted to the state governments and two of the powers specifically denied the states by the Constitution. Do the powers granted and denied make sense in modern times?

Question 75

In the case of McCulloch v. Maryland, discuss how the role of the federal government changed over time.

Question 76

Discuss the conflict between states' rights and powers to control the institution of marriage with their constitutional obligations toward the citizens and legal acts of other states.

Question 77

What were the key weaknesses of the confederal system under the Articles of Confederation?

Question 78

Overall, to what extent does the Constitution lay out the relationship between the federal and state governments?

Question 79

Explain what preemption means, and identify recent trends in its use and the issues that have been addressed.